A Year with a Bullet

One year ago I started to Bullet Journal...

As I begin to layout my 3rd volume (the start of my second year) I find I have grown in my abilities to organize thoughts and have found new ways to manage my time.  I have learned a few things about myself; I need help prioritizing and finding balance between work and life.  I have also found taking the time to layout each week brings a level of focus and intention to my days, where I am able to reflect on the week that has passed and prepare for the next.

The last 2 months have gotten away from me.  TODAY is the official start of my Maternity Leave and so far I feel like super mom!  I have gone to and made doctors appointments, collected forms, paid bills, budgeted for the month and now, will write this blog post.

Baby Girl is due to arrive Wednesday, and I am trying up as many loose ends while striving to move forward.  I don't think I'd be this calm if I didn't have a system in place for keeping my notes and thoughts in line.

 It's amazing to see how much a layout can change from Month to Month, Week to Week, and Year to Year.  Today I havev decided to feature a few of my layout changes over the past month.  Since I missed posting in April and May, due to super hectic work schedule and baby brain.  I think the changes have made me better organized.

Week to Week- May started out simple and I found I needed to track a bit more, but not spend more time in layout.

Looking back to previous month it was helpful to have my timeline written out, however I didn't need to track additional information, nor did I have the time this month for that layout...

So Simplify.   At the top of each day I broke out the day by appointment/task time.  This helped me keep track where I needed to be each day, without taking up too much space and time.

I usually enjoy using stickers and images in my layouts.  This month was packed with Doctor appointments, work assignments, baseball games, yoga, and more.  So time was sparse.

 I do love my monthly layout.  I've found a way to incorporate my work schedule and overall events into 2 quick layouts.  This overview really helps me focus on the month, I've stopped copying my work schedule, and instead scaled down the schedule I send to my boss.  It fits perfectly into my bullet journal pages.  As I'm now on my 3rd volume, I have found there are several layouts that I re-draw every layout. So, I'm starting to play around with creating some excel forms (because I love excel) that I can easily print off each month and reuse.  With a baby coming... I need to save some time...

One NEW LAYOUT I have really enjoyed is my Yoga Schedule Layout.  This month classes changed and I wanted to make the best use of my class cards.  I have been taking 2-4 yoga classes a week and find it a wonderful addition to my routine.  Sad that I will have the next month off, to recoup.  However, this last month having the schedule handy was super beneficial to finding a time to squeeze in a class.  PS- Favorite teachers are Kami and Doreen if your looking for a new class!

I've come a long way in a year!  Looking back to May of last year and the beginning of this process has been quite interesting.  If you would like to look back with me, feel free to check out these old posts...  May 2017 bullet journal layouts!

Hello 2018!

So far, this year is starting out just fine, minus a few aches and pains...

Work is in full swing, however today is a SNOW DAY!  Time to catch up on all of the work I have to do.  Besides schedules and planning for upcoming events, I have a bunch of new items to post in the shop!  I can't wait to get them all started.

To start things out, it's time to create my punch list for all of the things that need completed in 2018!
The top item for me this year is to post my Bullet Journal #GOALS page!

When I was beginning to layout my page I found myself searching for imagery and information on reflection and goal-setting.  In my search I found this book "Goodbye 2017 Hello 2018" by Selina Barker and Vicki Plavitt.  These two have founded Project Love, a website featuring online courses and coaching projects to promote women empowerment in life, career, focus, sisterhood, community, and so much more! 

Unfortunately, I was a few days too late to order for this years Kickstarter Campaign.  I truly hope they will be back next year!  This #projectlove project seemed like a great way to transition from one year to the next through reflection and help putting your best foot forward.

I've added their book image to my front page for 2018 to remind myself to check out more about them!  I've just started to check them out and have found that they have some wonderful blog posts and podcasts about loving what you do and growing your dreams. 

Thanks Selina and Vicki, I look forward to checking out more about your website and hope to grab one of your books next year!

My goals for 2018 is to keep it simple, and remember what is truly important to me.  My Health, Family, Home, and Creative adventures!  It's so easy to let the things that matter fall by the wayside.  This year I will do my best to remember my goals. 

I have left myself some room on this page as I am sure I will have additional goals this year.  I find that setting goals are a great way to move forward though life!  I hope to keep setting new goals so I can keep growing.

Come back soon!  I have a few more pages ready to share this month!

Organization!

So, I've gotten a few questions from friends about my Organizer.  Well I found it from this amazing Instagram Post:  BabesWhoStudy Organizer Post

Who else geeks out over organization tools?  Maybe I really should have been a Stage Manager... or a teacher...

Admission:   I love School Supplies...

If they still made the real Trapper Keeper I would totally rock one.  You know the old school 3 ring notebook, with the chipboard in back.   I would even take the zipper version.  I found I was carrying around, pens, post its, a sketchbook, a few random markers and erasers, just like at the bottom of my purse.  Not the best option.

So while I was looking through bullet journal layouts I found this amazing Bullet Journal Maven.  https://babeswhostudy.tumblr.com/

She posted a few pictures of her organizer and I was hooked.  It's a little bit like that old school trapper keeper, just with way more pockets.  I can carry my iPad or my Macbook Air back and forth to school so much safer, and everything is in one place!  No need to have pens and highlighters in duplicates at home and work, just take it with me.  Without loosing anything or having a hard time remembering where I put it.  Just pile everything into my organizer and off I go.  The padding is excellent for my electronics, and the large pocket in the back can hold any paperwork that needs to travel with me.

I have a few stencils and rulers, and these awesome new Pastel Stabilo Boss Highlighters, they are my new fave.  I switch back and for between my Stabilo and Sharpie Accent Liquid Highlighters.  It's also waterproof, which was really helpful this week when my water bottle lid wasn't screwed on 100% and dribbled down the front, My bullet journal stayed dry!

The best part about this Organizer is that It was only about $20 and shipped Amazon Prime!  Bonus, not spending $100+ on anything.  So, check out this amazing organizer, I might have to look into their bags next.  This organizer is super solid, and I love the color I picked!  Check out MYGREENLIFE Organizer  I found it on Amazon for easy ordering.

Happy Journaling!

A Wondeful Solution

I just had to share this 5 minute project that has change my life!  Not to mention my son loves it too.  I was looking for a solution to the pile of books that has taken over my son's room.  Every night we read about a dozen books, sometimes just the same book over and over and over.  By the time my son falls asleep I can't get out of the chair the pile of books is so big.  We go thru this process: 

Me: "This one?"
Max: "No."
Me: "This one?"
Max: "No."
 Me: "This one?"
Max: "Okay."

 So, I scoured Pinterest.  I found some great options and some great activities and storage solutions, along with some future projects.  Check out more ideas on my board:  Well, I was originally going to get some rubber gutters from Home Depot, then walking thru Ikea the other day I found these Ribba shelves:  Word of warning they aren't in the shelf area when you go to look at them.  You can find them over by the picture frames, we purchased the 45" option, they also come in 21".  They were absolutely perfect.  Now my son can see exactly what he wants to read and he has even started bringing them to me when we are upstairs.  I have to say this might be my new favorite spot in the house.  Since it has been so hot, after our morning walk we turn the air on in Max's room and hang out to cool off.  His room has the best light in the house anyway and with this new corner I can sit and read my book while he runs around the room picking out  new books and "reading them" too.

Only one post this month... I've been busy

Everyday I go to bed thinking... "oh crap!  I didn't finish my blog post!"  Then I go to bed, I wake up in the morning to a new order from Etsy and I go about my day.  Then during naptime I get started on the order and work until the kids wake up.  Speaking of kids, I've also been taking care of a couple of kids during the weekdays to help out friends in need.  We go to the park and/or walk and spend as much time outside as possible.  Then suddenly it's the end of the day and I still haven't written my blog post.  Who am I to complain, an order is an order, no matter how big or small.  At least I am lucky enough to have a fabulous place to work everyday... if I do say so myself!  I even have a great place for yoga in the mornings!

A month ago I posted photos of the new wall in the dining room, well that was the smallest project from the week.  This room may have been my favorite.  With about $250, a day of my wonderful husband's free time, and a few coats of paint I was able to transform my dark, work room into a sun filled studio.  I'm still looking for a few key items: a vintage clothing rack and a large armoire or sideboard for all of the finished "for Sale" items.  But I feel those will pop up one day on the side of the road or at an amazing tag sale.  I'll keep you posted when I find them.

I started with a few coats of simple stone grey paint from home depot, Behr brand.  I like using paint with a built in primer.  Costs around $35, but I only needed one can of paint.  Then I found a great and reasonably inexpensive flooring at Ikea,  It is laminate, super easy to clean and gives a great beach vibe.  The room has a new life to it, much better than the black and grey carpet squares and tan paint.  Since the room is at the back of the house I needed to find a way to bring in some natural light.  I basically turned my studio into a huge light box!

I also did a bit of reorganizing.  I used to hold all my tools and trimmings in these metal pails I ordered from Burton & Burton for my wedding.  They have been super handy, but I figured I was wasting a lot of valuable space in my little room.  I also sacrificed the pails and a table to add in a little sitting area, I do have to admit sitting in my little chair and typing this afternoon has been lovely.  Below is a quick picture of what the room looked like before.  I have to admit a few little things make a big difference.

 

The floor as made clean up easier and the room seems to attract good vibes, maybe its the fact that all of the little ones that spend so much time at my house just love this room.  They point at the mobiles and we practice our colors.  I have been working on a few tea sets and crochet rugs, but those are for another post.  With my days being so busy I hope I get a chance to take some time out in the next few weeks and spend a little bit of time sharing my projects and inspirations.  Sorry about the delay, I'll gear up for the next show and tell!

A little update break.

The last two weeks have been a rush! My husband was on spring break for the last two weeks. We usually take a week and drive to Florida, spend time with family, get some sun, and drive back. This spring break we decided to stay home and renovate. It just so happened that New England was also experiencing 60+Deg weather. We accomplished so much!

The smallest project we tackled over break I actually just finished. It was the last and has made the most impact. I could shoot myself though. I thought I took a "before" photo, but alas I cannot find it. I even rummaged through past holiday and random photos of Max to try and find one. Obviously this was the most boring wall in my house. It was grey and painted white below the chair rail.... snooze... 

So, I spend some free time on Pinterest and found a bunch of sources for "Activity" type walls. Check them out on my Pinterest Board.

Max has started finishing dinner before Charlie and me. So we let him down to play, now he has the perfect space to play where we can still keep an eye on him.

This project took approximately 4 days.  I started on Friday night painting on 3 light coats of Rustoleum Magnetic Primer.    Word to the wise!  This is a very stinky project, keep the room well ventilated.  Also, I suggest asking the paint department at your local hardware store to shake the can in the electric mixer!  If it's not possible to have your can mixed at a store you will need to shake and stir for several minutes.  There are metal shavings in the paint that will settle to the bottom.  Clean up is also a chore, you cannot use soap and water.  I suggest tossing the brush and roller cover after use and using a paint tray liner, no need to clean up, just toss.  I then followed with 2 coats of Rustoleum Chalk Board Paint.  Use a roller for the smoothest finish for both.  The Chalk board paint needs about 3 days to cure. 

This morning I was out running errands, basically out to buy a magnetic strip to hold knives in the kitchen, photos of that project coming soon!  Well while I was looking at them I had a fantastic idea!  I grabbed two more strips and a couple of metal containers from the kitchen area of the store.  They are perfect for holding Max's Chalk and Magnets!  They even had clear lids so he can see what is in each.  I was thinking about using old 35mm developing tins, however since I don't develop film like I used to I don't have the same access to them.  I did find basic square tins at the check out!  There was a rack with "Gift Card Tins".  You know those little squares you see the big box stores use to give gift cards in.  I snatched two, now all of the thumb tacks and restaurant coupons and gift cards have a handy place to live.

Rosie found her way back upstairs from the basement along with an old clock and cork board.  Now we have a nice community area to share news, remind us of bills, and make art all in one space.  I also have to share a close up of our House Rules.  The kitchen has recently been nick named the "War Room" based on our artwork.  Charlie's found a bunch of vintage WW2 Propaganda Posters in his grandfather's belongings.  Charlie had them framed while attending college and we have hung them in the dinning room in the new house.  So this room is now the place where things are talked out and each person gets a chance to say what is on their mind.  Sometimes art might play a part too.  But for right now, we will encourage Max to draw and create. 





























Check back soon for photos of the other projects from Spring break.  I promise they are even cooler than this one!

Coming soon!

Getting organized!

So, As many know I moved into a new house in September 2011. I now have my very own studio space and a lot of stuff to fill it. I've slowly been working on finding efficient was to store materials and tools. I think I finally found the right way to store certain materials.

Take a look.

I found these little bins in the $1 area at Target the other day. They are just the right size! The front row of ribbon is running through the second row of holes in each basket, with the back row over top in the top row. It is so easy now to just pull the yardage I need and snip with scissors. I was lucky that these baskets stack fairly well inside each other. So I stacked the baskets to save on shelf space.



With each order I like to include a hand written thank you note on color coordinated cards.  I have 3 boxes of cards floating around, normally stuffed on a top shelf and when I grab one it opens and I end up playing 52 card pick up.  So I decided to put them all together, which helps me to remember what colors I am running low on and not dump them all over the floor.  I threw in some writing tools and cute tags, now I can just grab the bin and have everything at my finger tips.  Writing Thank You Notes has never been so easy!

I hope these tricks can be useful in your everyday craftiness.  I like being efficient, it helps me keep track of everything, and makes clean up easier.  Stay tuned in the next few weeks for new Shop Updates.  Some serious projects are planned for the next few weeks.  I will be sharing more helpful organization tips and photos of the new shop!  Thanks for stopping by!